What constitutes affordable housing? A lot depends on where you live and what you earn. In some parts of the country, income is much higher than others. people moving from the east or west coast find housing in New Mexico to be very affordable. Many of those who were born and raised here find it to be expensive because they are not coming from an area with higher wages and higher housing prices.

Some things that can make a home more affordable for more people are high efficiency appliances, heating and cooling systems that keep utility bills lower. An extra $50 to $100 per month can buy significantly more house or-more importantly a house closer to work so that less money is spent on commuting. Hopefully this will come with the added benefit of less driving and therefore a lower carbon footprint.

The ability to walk, bicycle or use public transportation can significantly lower both the cost of commuting but the amount of pollution in the atmosphere. The exercise certainly can't hurt any of us an may well help us save money on medical bills since we will be healthier as a result. Given the cost of gasoline these days and of maintaining a car a significant amount of money can be redirected to house rather than commuting and polluting.

NAR's Home From Work program can have a great impact on helping these changes come about. If employers of low to mid level workers--places that hire clerks, retail sles people, service workers participate in this program they can increase their employee loyalty and lower their absentee rate while increasing their retention or trained staff. That means a savings in training costs. How does that work? Check out www.tcah.org